[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 17562]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      HONORING THE MEN FROM WASHINGTON STATE WHO HAVE DIED IN IRAQ

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, young men and women are giving up their 
lives nearly every day to sustain the President's war in Iraq. They are 
not in Iraq toppling Saddam. That has been done. They are not in Iraq 
dismantling weapons of mass destruction. There never were any. They are 
in Iraq dying in George Bush's crusade.
  I think it is only fitting that we should give each of the dead a 
minute of silence here on the floor. But we cannot because we would 
have to stand here silent for 16\1/2\ hours. That is because today we 
lost the 1,000th American in Iraq. For what? For what?
  The President says we took out Saddam Hussein because he was a bad 
guy. Well, that could apply to an awful lot of people all over the face 
of the Earth. They went in there with no plan for establishing the 
peace. And more people have died since the President made his fabled 
landing on the Abraham Lincoln saying ``mission accomplished'' than 
died before that. More people have died since they handed over control 
to the Iraqis than died before the mission was accomplished. This has 
been an unending disaster.
  So since we cannot give a minute of silence for every member, let me 
tell you who has died from my State thus far in Iraq. And I hope every 
Member will come to the floor and do what I am doing tonight, speak the 
names of the dead. Think about the futures they have lost and the 
families they leave behind. And then I hope every American will ask the 
President why. Why?
  From Washington State we have lost Lance Corporal Cedric E. Burns, 
age 22; Specialist Justin W. Hebert, age 20; Private Duane E. 
Longstreth, age 19; Private Kerry D. Scott, age 21; Second Lieutenant 
Benjamin L. Colgan, age 30, distinguished soldier who made his picture 
on to the front page of Time magazine, very courageous and very good 
soldier; Specialist Robert T. Benson, age 20; Specialist John R. 
Sullivan, age 26; Captain James A. Shull, age 32; Specialist Nathan W. 
Nakis, 19; Sergeant Curt E. Jordan, Jr., age 25; Staff Sergeant 
Christopher Bunda, age 29; First Lieutenant Michael R. Adams, age 24; 
Sergeant Jacob R. Herring, age 21; Sergeant Jeffery R. Shaver, age 26; 
Private Cody S. Calavan, age 19; Lance Corporal Dustin L. Sides, age 
22; Staff Sergeant Marvin Best, age 33; Specialist Jeremiah W. Schmunk, 
age 21; Sergeant Yadir G. Reynoso, age 27; Lance Corporal Kane M. 
Funke, age 20; Lance Corporal Caleb J. Powers, age 21; Sergeant Jason 
Cook, age 25.
  These men have died in this crusade in a war that was never 
understood by the people who started it. They had no reason to go to 
Iraq and they went anyway, and these people from my State paid the 
price.

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